Gregory surname meaning

Gregory is a surname from the Christian personal name Gregory. The name comes through Latin Gregorius from Greek Grēgorios, related to a verb meaning “to be awake” or “watchful.” Christian tradition later encouraged a shepherding association through a folk connection with Latin words for flock, but that is not the basic linguistic construction. Gregor, Gregoire, and Gregorio are language counterparts or close relatives. In this catalog Gregory is a parent’s-name surname because a family inherited an ancestor’s given name. The personal-name derivation is consistently reported by two independent surname references, so confidence is high.